The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1887-06-04
FATE OF A MORMON GIRL.
THE STORY OF MARY LEE AND
OF HER TWO LOVERS.
She Wanted the Gentle, but the
Mormon Church Designed Her
for Elder Crafty.

the latter DclnS cilll'iitSa, tooh 4u'iy
Lee, an orphan, to bring up according
to the rites of the Church of the Latter
Day Saints. As Ann had many children
to comfort her the babe was placed IN
charge of Jane, q devout Mormon, her
self born in the faitli. Mary Lees
parents were from England. Her mother
was delicate little woman, well remem-
bered by many here as fearful and UNI
happy person. Times were hard with
them when they first appeared here, and
they grew harder for some reason. just
as her husband was about to take
second wife, evidently against the wishes
of the companion of his youth, he was
killed in a snow slide, and three months
after that his widow died, some said OF
broken heart, leaving little Mary alone
in the world. Samuel Bates was some
thing of man among the Mormons.
He was called Brother Bates. His first
wife was hard, coarse woman, but Jane,
TO whom the little orphan went, was tell
der, rather good. looking, and filed with
a stern and llnbandin9 faith in the diyin-
ity of her religion and Il determination
to "live" it to the end. The child which
thus fell to her partook of her dead
mothers disposition. As she grew to
vumanhood she became fair to n degree
not often seen i'll these parts, but in
spirit she was gloomy, sad and retlcent.
Surrounded by Mormons and taught by
the pious Jane, she became almost
fanatic on the subject of religion herself,
and readily acceptedall that was instilled
into her mind as the inspiration of the
Lord.
A year or two ago Mary Lee became
acquainted with n young man living in
mining camp not far from here, a Gen
tile, of course, as no Mormon delves for
gold and silver. The youth, Seth Bent
ley by name, rarely lost an opportunity
to pay the girl little attentions, and Mt
length it became the rlmor that he was
her accepted lover. She would stroll
away to the foot hills to meet him, of
evenings they would be seen by the
mountain brook which winds through
the town, and on Sunday afternoons,
partic ilarly when Brother Bates was
away from home, they would be riding
or walking together. Jane made no OPP
position to the intimacy, but when
Brother Bates attention was called to
the matter, he felt that it was his duty
&C interfere. Little by little James
mind WAS won over to his way of think
ing, though at first she had been uns,ls-
pecting. Bentley was forbidden the
house, and the girl was told that she
must never meet him again. But they
met after this, not as Il result of Mary's
disobediencc, but by reason of Bentlev's
persistence. He found her one day last
summer down by the brook, and when
she would have run from him he caught
her, and, holding her closely, he told her
of his affection for her, and entreatcd
her to become his wife. and in return re-
ccivc some encouragement. From that
time on they met Occasionally, unknown
To Brother Bates or to Jane.
In September Brother Bates went to
New Mexico on an cxhortation tour, and
when he returned i'll October he brought
back with him Mormon elder named
Crafty, who, seeing Mary Lee. bethought
him that lie would like to take another
wife, his fifth, and he accordingly
preached the subject to her on the sec
ond day after his arrival. The girl re-
PEELED him with horror, but he pressed
his suit, and at length brought Brother
Bates to his assistance. AT first Jane
opposed the proposition. She was d
sincere Mormon, bat her affection for
her foster child got the better of her
faith for time, and until she could be
placatcd Elder Crafty had to hang his
harp on the willow. The means resorted
TO to bring Jane to see the error of her
ways are familiar to all who have had in
tercourse with the strange people who
inhabit these valleys. Brother Bates
bad vision. Then Elder Crafty had a
vision. Then n bishop who was passing
through Jericho Valley had vision.
Then the Sunday-school superintendent,
the Sunday-school teachers and the local